With crispy golden flaky pastry wrapped around a soft and delicious juicy filling, these pork and apple sausage rolls are guaranteed to be eaten in minutes! The classic combination of pork, fresh apple and fennel seeds makes these homemade sausage rolls a recipe you will be making again and again.
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Golden crispy puff pastry, and a moist pork and apple filling (with extra hidden veggies too!), make these homemade sausage rolls very hard to resist! Like my ploughman’s sausage rolls and honey mustard sausage rolls, they are perfect for picnics, lunchboxes and kids lunches, they freeze well too.
Why we love this sausage roll recipe
- It can easily be doubled for a party.
- Homemade sausage rolls are so much tastier than store bought!
- They are egg free sausage rolls – the egg wash is optional, so if you have egg intolerances you can still enjoy these sausage rolls.
- Cooking the garlic, onion, carrot and apple adds flavour, moisture – and veggies! By cooking them before you add them to the sausage meat you remove the moisture, which helps the pastry stay crisp.
Ingredients Notes and Substitutions
- Sausages – use the best quality pork sausages that you can.
- Onion – brown or red onion.
- Garlic – a clove of fresh garlic, but if you don’t have any, substitute with one third of a teaspoon of dried garlic.
- Mustard – dijon mustard adds extra flavour, if you aren’t a fan of mustard don’t worry, you can’t taste it.
- Carrot – adds extra flavour (and ups the veggies in these sausage rolls!)
- Apple – Use any eating apple you like, such as Pink Lady, Granny Smith, or Golden Delicious.
- Fennel seeds – this slightly sweet spice with a hint of liquorice goes really well with pork.
- Breadcrumbs – I have used homemade breadcrumbs here, whizzing up a slice of bread in a mini blender, but you can use bought breadcrumbs too.
- Puff pastry – I like to use Pampas puff pastry sheets, available in the freezer in Australian supermarkets. Each sheet is approx 160g, which is equivalent to half a Jus-roll puff pastry sheet or just over a quarter of a 500g puff pastry block if you are in the UK.
How to make sausage rolls with apple and fennel from scratch
- Fry the onion in a little oil.
- When soft and translucent…
- …add the carrot.
- Once the carrot is soft, add the apple and fennel seeds.
- If using sausages, squeeze out of their skins.
- Add the cooled vegetable mixture, breadcrumbs and herbs.
- Cut the puff pastry in half to form two rectangles.
- Lay the sausage filling down the centre of each half.
- Roll up.
- Cut each roll in to 6 pieces.
- Place the sausage rolls on a lined baking tray and brush with egg wash.
- Sprinkle with fennel seeds and/or sesame seeds, then bake.
FAQ
Why do you put breadcrumbs in sausage rolls?
Breadcrumbs not only help bulk the sausage filling mixture out, but they help soften the filling too. As the fat is released from the sausage meat, the breadcrumbs soak it up rather than it running out on to the tray, resulting in soft, moist and flavour packed sausage rolls!
Can you freeze sausage rolls before cooking them?
Yes you can. Make them as per the recipe, up until the egg wash stage. Freeze. Cook from frozen, brushing with egg and sprinkling with seeds then bake for 10 minutes longer.
How long do unbaked sausage rolls keep in the freezer?
They will keep for up to 3 months.
My recipe tips
- Sausage meat – you can buy sausage mince rather than sausages to save squeezing the sausage meat out from the cases.
- Make sure the oven is fully heated before you put the sausage rolls in to cook.
- The egg wash is optional, so if you want egg free sausage rolls leave it out. The egg wash makes the sausage rolls lovely and shiny and a beautiful golden brown, so keep this in mind if you leave out this step.
- Fennel seeds – fennel and pork go so well together, but if you aren’t keen on this aniseedy spice then use ½ teaspoon instead and don’t sprinkle them on top. (If you love the spice, they feature in this coriander chutney!)
- For any vegetarians in your family, make these vegetarian sausage rolls
Storage
- Fridge – these sausage rolls will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days.
- Freezer – either freeze before you bake (see FAQ above), or cool completely then freeze on a tray not touching. Once frozen transfer to a tupperware container or ziploc bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
More kid friendly lunchbox/picnic recipes
More puff pastry recipes
Homemade Sausage Rolls
Author: Robyn
With crispy golden flaky pastry wrapped around a soft and delicious juicy filling, these homemade pork and apple sausage rolls are guaranteed to be eaten in minutes!
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small brown onion finely diced
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 1 small carrot finely grated
- ½ small apple finely grated
- ½-1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 400g (14 oz) pork sausages approx 4 sausages
- 17g (⅓c) breadcrumbs
- 1 spring fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
- black pepper
- 1 sheet puff pastry (approx 160-170g in weight)
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds for the top, optional
- ½ teaspoon sesame seeds for the top, optional
- 1 egg for the top, optional
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a low to medium heat and gently fry the diced onion for 5 minutes.
- Add the crushed garlic and grated carrot and cook for 3 minutes.
- Add the grated apple and fennel seeds and cook for 2-3 minutes, until any liquid has evaporated and the vegetables are soft.
- Leave to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 190˚C fan/ 210˚C / 410˚F.
- Line a baking tray with baking parchment/baking paper.
- Once the vegetables are cool, make the filling:
- In a medium mixing bowl squeeze the sausage meat out from the sausage casings. Add the breadcrumbs, thyme, dijon mustard, cooled apple and carrot, and season with black pepper.
- Mix well to combine.
- Lay out your pastry sheet on a wooden board and cut it in half to make 2 rectangles.
- Spoon half the sausage mixture down the centre of one rectangle. Repeat with the other filling and rectangle.
- Using a little beaten egg (or milk or water if not using an egg), brush down one long side of the pastry, then roll the pastry over the sausage mixture. Repeat with the other rectangle.
- Cut each long sausage roll in half, then cut each half in to 3.
- Place on a lined baking tray, leaving a little bit of room in between each sausage roll.
- Brush with a little beaten egg and then sprinkle with fennel seeds or sesame seeds.
- Place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden and cooked through.
Notes
Sausages – use the best quality pork sausages that you can. You can buy 400g sausage meat rather than sausages to save squeezing the sausage meat out from the cases.
Onion – brown or red onion.
Garlic – a clove of fresh garlic, but if you don’t have any, substitute with one third of a teaspoon of dried garlic.
Mustard – dijon mustard adds extra flavour, you can’t taste it though.
Carrot – adds extra flavour (and ups the veggies in these sausage rolls!)
Apple – Use any eating apple you like, such as Pink Lady, Granny Smith, or Golden Delicious.
Fennel seeds – fennel and pork go so well together, but if you aren’t keen on this aniseedy spice then use ½ teaspoon instead and don’t sprinkle them on top.
Breadcrumbs – I have used homemade breadcrumbs here, whizzing up a slice of bread in a mini blender, but you can use bought breadcrumbs too.
Puff pastry – I like to use Pampas puff pastry sheets, available in the freezer in Australian supermarkets. Each sheet is approx 160g, which is equivalent to half a Jus-roll puff pastry sheet or just over a quarter of a 500g puff pastry block if you are in the UK.
Egg free sausage rolls – the egg wash is purely optional so you can leave it out. Use milk or water to seal the pastry. The egg wash makes the sausage rolls lovely and shiny and a beautiful golden brown, so keep this in mind if you leave out this step.
Nutrition
Calories: 241kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 7gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 285mgPotassium: 146mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 903IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 18mgIron: 1mg
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Kate says
Great bake! Freezes and reheats very well.
Robyn says
Thanks Kate! So happy you enjoyed the sausage rolls!